OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Book Reports >> James Clavell Essay - Taipan And Shogun
We have many free term papers and essays on James Clavell Essay - Taipan And Shogun. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
James Clavell Essay - Taipan and Shogun. James Clavell?s Exploration Of
Ancient Oriental Customs By Jeremy Setterfield Nov. 26th ...
Submitted by jsetterfield on July 3, 2005
Category: Book Reports
Words: 3544 | Pages: 15
Views: 674
Popularity Rank: 8,631
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
James Clavell’s Exploration
Of Ancient Oriental Customs
By
Jeremy Setterfield
Nov. 26th, 2004
Setterfield 1
James Clavell certainly had his work cut out for him when he chose to write his “Asian Saga” series of novels. Exposing the customs and culture of the ancient Orient is a daunting task for even the most qualified professional. However, to do so with an intriguing and entertaining medium is verging on impossibility. Until the last two centuries, both China and Japan remained time capsules that held within them unique societies based on radically different values and perspectives. This national seclusion in China and Japan was a direct result of the countries’ trade policies and their view of foreigners. Both countries believed that their country was truly the “land of the Gods” and that all foreigners were inferior. This belief lead to laws that acted as force fields to repel Western society. Clavell’s in-depth biography explains how Clavell spent part of his life as a prisoner of war in Japan (JamesClavell.net, par. 2), and thus was able to couple his experiences with his natural gift of story telling. Throughout James Clavell’s novels Taipan and Shogun, Clavell cleverly intertwines the plot with beliefs and customs of ancient Hong Kong and Japan, respectively. Clavell does not merely present the oriental culture, but he incorporates all of his characters in the process of portraying the different aspects of their way of life. In doing this, Clavell is able to educate the reader without losing their interest.
Throughout the two novels, Clavell stresses the importance of “face” and honour to the Oriental cultures. Early on in the novel Shogun, Clavell opens the reader’s eyes to the absolute importance of honour. Honour, in Japan, came in many forms. A person of low status was always...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!